Seeking Home
by ograndebatata
Summary: When he went to the man village, Mowgli had help in getting the red flower. On that same night, the one who helped him witnessed Shere Khan's defeat. Months later, they meet again, as Mowgli starts having doubts on where he wants to make his home.
_So, I watched the 2016 version of 'The Jungle Book' a few days ago. Overall, I found it a really good movie, and another proof that Disney can truly pull off making remakes of their classics, the first being Cinderella._

 _But there was just one scene I really would have liked to see in the movie, but which sadly was either left on the cutting room floor or not even considered for inclusion. This story represents an attempt at writing how a 'modern version' of that scene might have gone if Jon Favreau and Justin Marks had included it in the movie._

 _Disclaimer: As far as I know, Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories are in the public domain, but the proprerties associated to Disney's classic aren't. Anything you recognized as belonging to the universe ofDisney's Jungle Book is not owned by me, and neither is anything you recognize from Kipling's books. I did, however, take the liberty of naming Grey Brother's three siblings._

 _I hope you enjoy._

* * *

 _Author's note from April 21st: It has been brought to my attention that the change of format in this story's earlier version may be a bit jarring. I thought it over, and as I weighed the pros and cons and came to feel a certain insatisfaction myself, I realized it might be true. I also noticed other changes that needed to be made... so here is the new version of 'Seeking Home'. To those who read the older version, I apologize, and hope you enjoy this new version._

 _To those who read this version as the first they read, I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

 **Seeking Home**

 _I have to get that Red Flower._

Mowgli knew that as well as he knew that the sun rose at dawn and set at night. If not the one he was looking at, he would need to grab a hold of a Red Flower if he wanted to defeat Shere Khan. It was why he had come to the man village Baloo had shown him, and why he had snuck close to the large red flower he had seen growing there. There were too many men around it for him to steal any without being seen, but after only a few seconds, he had noticed a smaller red flower growing on a strange kind of branch stuck to the tall, narrow rock he'd been hiding behind.

No one was close to the rock, so he had a chance to grab the branch without being seen, but he didn't know how to do so. The rock was too wide and smooth for him to be able to climb it, and too high for him to jump and grab the branch with Red Flower without taking the risk of dropping it, or worse, without being heard. If he had anything with him, he might use one of his tricks to take the branch away from the rock, but without anything around, he couldn't do that. He knew he could go back to the Jungle to pick up vines or branches or bark or even bones, but he was afraid of getting out of the man village empty handed. As much as the men seemed careless and blind in their trust of the Red Flower to keep the intruders away, Mowgli knew that every second he spent here made it more likely the men would see him, and that he might not be able to sneak in a second time.

If he didn't go back to the jungle, he wouldn't be able to get anything for his tricks, but if he tried to catch the Red Flower with what he had he would, at best, walk away with nothing. And Mowgli couldn't walk away with nothing. Shere Khan had killed Akela. Shere Khan might be killing his mother or Grey or any of his brothers or any other wolf in the pack at this very moment. He might even have killed them all already. And Mowgli knew he wouldn't stop there. He hadn't known why the tiger would have any problem with him, but there was something else he now knew: the monster wouldn't stop until he killed Mowgli, wouldn't care how many he would have to kill until that happened, and would keep disrespecting the Jungle Law and killing for pleasure even if Mowgli died. The one-eyed tiger had to be stopped. So Mowgli needed to grab that red flower.

But how?

A faint rustle reached his ears from behind. He froze, like deers and antelopes first did when they heard a suspicious noise. He had been found. He would be caught, and he would be unable to take the Red Flower to the pack and protect it from Shere Khan.

But no men's hands grabbed him, and none of those strange tangles of vines that men used to trap animals surrounded him like Kaa had done before Baloo saved him. Still, he felt a presence behind him, a stare, as if someone was looking at him.

As slowly as he could, while at the same time wanting to move as fast as possible, Mowgli turned around. He didn't want to waste time, but a quick turn might startle whatever was looking at him and make it cry in alarm, which would alert the men.

At last, he turned around and faced whatever was looking at him. And it wasn't what he expected.

A creature like nothing he had seen before was looking at him, looking as scared and intrigued as he expected.

It was around his height, and had eyes like his', a face and ears like his', a nose and mouth like his', hands and feet like his', and skin like his'. But it was also different. Its head hair was longer and wrapped behind its head, in a way that looked like some of the tangled vines he'd seen at the swamp where Kaa had almost eaten him. It had a strange red dot between its eyes, one Mowgli knew he didn't have from looking at his reflection. It wore coverings like his - a white one around its torso and a purple one from its waist to its feet that seemed to go around her in a way that would flare if the creature spun around. And something about the creature's features seemed different from his in a way he couldn't understand.

He knew it should be another man cub, but somehow, he knew it wasn't _exactly_ a man cub.

He shook himself back to reality. Why was he thinking about this now? He had to get the Red Flower, and he couldn't be caught by this thing! But he couldn't fight it either. He wouldn't be fast enough to silence it before the other men noticed.

If only he could speak men's language! Then at least there was a chance he could ask the men - or even this creature - for some red flower. Of course the men might not let him take it, but at least he could explain himself and maybe make them understand - although from what Mowgli had heard about men, they weren't likely to listen to his explanations.

The creature kept looking at him. And somehow, as if it could read his thoughts, it seemed to understand him, at least a bit. Its features lost most of their fear and intrigue, and then its mouth stretched and its teeth showed in the way Mowgli's did when he was happy or trying to be appeasing. The pack had told him not to do so because it was perceived as a threat, but he had never completely stopped making it. Now, he was glad for that.

He kept his fear down and tried to stretch his mouth and show his teeth in the same way the creature's did. It wasn't easy to do so when he was afraid, but somehow, it worked. Any remnants of the fear in the creature's facet vanished - now it showed only gentleness and comfort.

Relieved, Mowgli decided to test his luck, and raised his hand at the black branch with a red flower he had been trying to pick. The creature's eyes lit up, and it opened its mouth as if it was going to make a call.

Mowgli raised his hands as fast as he could.

 _Quiet!_ He thought as if he was speaking to it. _You'll alert your whole pack!_

He was fast enough, and the creature understood what he meant; its mouth closed again. Then, it looked from the black branch with red flower to Mowgli a few times. What was it doing?

After a while, its face lit up like Mowgli guessed his' sometimes did when he came up with a new trick, and it ran to the tall rock. Then it turned around, raised its right hand, and cupped it as it pulled it toward itself time and again.

It must be wanting Mowgli to approach it.

Mowgli tiptoed toward the creature, and gave the surrounding area a look at every two steps. So far, no one but this strange creature had seen him, and he managed to approach it without being noticed. When he got to the creature, it pointed at his hands, then to its waist, made a gesture as if it was lifting something, and it pointed to itself. Then, it pointed at the red flower, and then at Mowgli.

It repeated all the gestures once more, and Mowgli drank in each of them. And as the creature finished the second sequence, he understood. It was telling him to lift it for it to pick the branch with red flower so it could give it to Mowgli for him to take it.

The pack had always told him not to trust strangers, but somehow, Mowgli knew he could trust this creature, whatever it was.

Relieved he could take the red flower after all, he approached the thing and lifted it by its ankles to stand on his shoulders. It was a bit difficult at first, because the covering around the creature's legs fell around his head, but Mowgli managed to toss it behind his nape by shaking his head, and looked up to see if it had managed to catch the branch. For an instant, it put his hands on the rock to steady itself, but then took one hand to the branch with red flower and picked it.

Mowgli set the creature down, and accepted the branch it gave him. At first, he started running like mad out of the village before the men could catch him after all, but then, for some reason he couldn't explain, he turned around and gave the creature the same face the wolves had told him not to make, although this time he gave it to try and convey his gratitude.

After the creature gave him a similar face in return, Mowgli turned around and resumed his run.

* * *

Shanti knew that this was a bad idea. She was disobeying each and every of the most important rules that had been taught to her since she was old enough to listen, not to mention the most basic common sense. Even a grown man wouldn't go into the jungle unarmed, so it was out of the question for a girl as young as her to do it.

But the strange boy she had given the torch to had intrigued her. Shanti knew he wasn't from her village or from any of the surrounding ones, and he didn't look like any child she had seen before. He looked lean in a way she didn't think any other child did, he had more scars than any other child she had ever met, and there was a strange wildness to his stance, as if he was more of a wild animal ready to attack or to run than a human. But she had felt his very human despair as he looked at the torch as if his life depended on him getting it, and then had seen the same later when he prevented her from telling someone to get the torch for him. And more importantly, she had seen the very human comfort and gratitude in his smiles. If she hadn't sensed any humanity in him, she wouldn't have given him the torch.

But why would he need a torch in the jungle? She could guess he needed it to help someone, but she had no idea who. She only knew that, for whatever insane reason had come to her, she wanted two things. One was to find out what he wanted the torch for. The other was to make sure he would be alright.

So she grabbed a torch of her own and headed off into the jungle after him. At first, it was easy enough to see where he went, as his torch left a few sparks on the ground from how fast he ran, and she even managed to remain safe from the animal she guessed were around, probably because of the fire she carried herself.

But almost before Shanti could realize it, she ended up in big trouble. Somehow, a few of the sparks the boy had dropped had caused a forest fire, and in moments, the flames grew ahead of her like a wall, devouring everything they came in touch with. Animals of all kinds either ran or flew around her, and it was only by miracle that Shanti managed to get into a nook formed by a tree that shielded her from them. She knew she couldn't stay there forever, or the fire would catch her, but with so many animals running by, she found no room to get away from her refuge.

Eventually, the animals were few enough for her to be able to get away - and right on time, because by then the fire was only a few hundred meters away from her. Shanti ran as fast as she could, always with one hand gripping her torch, but the fire moved quicker. It slowed down occasionally thanks to a brief contrary wind, but it always carried on sooner or later.

The smoke around her increased. The temperature rose.

She would be caught and burned alive.

This was an even worse idea than she had thought when she first went after the boy.

A sudden rush reached her ears. All around her, hisses rose from the forest as fires started to fade. Shanti had heard the noise more than once when fires were put out with water. Had some sort of sudden flood started at the best possible time?

Shanti clambered up a nearby tree with her free hand, always keeping her torch grasped in the other one. As soon as she was on it, she turned around and saw that indeed water was spreading across the forest floor. To her relief, the flood wasn't too big - only a few inches of water rather than the several feet she had seen a few times. But it could still knock her down and injure her, not to mention put out her torch. So she stayed on the tree and waited for the flood to pass.

And as she did, she noticed something incredible. A herd of elephants was just finishing rearranging the river by carving holes in the ground with their tusks and legs and bringing down trees at the right spots. And Shanti realized: they were putting out the fire.

But could animals be that smart? Elephants had never been considered dumb, but them being smart enough to know exactly what to do to put out a forest fire defied her understanding of the world. But she trusted her eyes, and she knew what she had seen.

And then, she saw two more things. One was the boy she had given the torch to, sitting on the shoulders of a baby elephant, looking both triumphant and relieved. The other was a burned, mangled corpse floating in the mud. Humans didn't see particularly well at night, but there was enough light for her to recognize it even from this distance. It was a tiger. In fact, although she couldn't be sure with this light, it seemed to Shanti that it was the same tiger all the surrounding villages were afraid of, who had taken countless men, women, and children to eat, the most recent being her friend Nathoo.

So this must be what he wanted the torch for. To defeat the tiger.

But did he really need to start a whole forest fire to do so, or had it been an accident?

The boy looked in her direction, and all her thoughts halted. Like he had done in the village when he first noticed her, he froze.

Shanti couldn't very well do the same in her precarious position, but she felt herself start to shiver as he looked at her.

For some time she didn't think about measuring, their gazes met, in spite of the darkness and the distance. Then, he smiled again and waved at her. She smiled as well and waved her torch.

Then she almost slipped off the tree.

She managed to hold on at the last possible moment, but it still showed that it wasn't an ideal position to be in. She'd better go back to the village before her torch finished burning or before the elephants caught sight of her.

She got down from the tree, smoothed her skirt, and followed her trail backward. It was easy, because even the sparks that hadn't set fire to the jungle had left trails visible enough for her to see with her torch.

When she finally returned to the village, most hadn't even noticed she had been away, but her parents had been beside themselves with worry. To Shanti's relief, they told nothing to the village chief, but she received the longest lecture of her life the moment after they stopped hugging her in relief, and went to her room without dinner on the following day.

She didn't try to argue, and didn't tell anything about what she had seen the elephants doing. She did, however, tell them about the strange boy, and told them of the man-eating tiger being dead. Later, she heard that when her father and other men went to take a look at the place, they also had the suspicion it was the same tiger, although the corpse was too damaged for them to know for sure, apparently from having fallen into the flames.

And when months went by with no more tiger attacks, she just knew that the boy had killed the man-eating tiger. And although her parents again scolded her about following the boy when she reaffirmed her assertion, they did agree he had done all the villages in the area a great favor.

And like Shanti, they too hoped he was alright.

* * *

Several moon cycles after Shere Khan was defeated, Mowgli sat on a low tree branch close to the river bank, on a spot where it was narrow enough for a tiger to cross it in a single jump. A beaten trail lead from it to the same man village Baloo had showed him, the same one where he had gotten the red flower branch that allowed him to defeat Shere Khan, although not in the way he expected. That entrance to the man village, like the one he'd used on the day he took the Red Flower, was unguarded, and Mowgli knew he could just walk into the village any moment he wanted.

On the day Bagheera took him away, Mowgli wouldn't even have considered it, but as of late, he had been growing more and more tempted.

He wished he wasn't, but life in the jungle was becoming more and more difficult for him. While his victory over Shere Khan was meaningful, and the animals praised him for destroying the murderous tiger, it only took about a moon cycle and a half for his life to start to grow sour, as the other animals kept giving him distrustful and angry looks. The giant red flowed he had planted by accident had caused a lot of damage, and no amount of gratitude to him for defeating Shere Khan would erase the cost of that victory. And as he kept learning new tricks and perfecting old ones, the mistrust and anger started being joined by fear. More and more animals started whispering about him behind his back only to shut up if he appeared, and not even the elephants' approval, which had started to vanish about three moon cycles after he defeated Shere Khan, could help against that.

Mowgli knew he still had those who liked him: Mother Wolf and her four youngest pups were still as fond of him as before, and Bagheera and Baloo never ran away from him and always comforted him whenever he got sad after hearing more and more animals were rejecting him. Bagheera had even remained as approving of Mowgli's tricks as on the day he had defeated Shere Khan, although he made it a point to warn Mowgli to be careful when using them. And there were elephants who genuinely liked him: Colonel Hathi (a title that Mowgli had learned came from the fact Hathi had fought in men's battles), his mate Winifred, and Hathi Jr. (the elephant Mowgli had rescued) had never let him forget how grateful they were after that day at the hole. The Colonel would tell him stories of his days amongst the men, when he had been at the Maharaj's Fifth Pachyderm Brigade (which seemed to mean he had fought on the side of a man leader who had several elephant groups to fight his battles). Winifred would scold him in a way similar to Mother Wolf at times, but would also tell him about the jungle, sharing things not even Bagheera had known. And Hathi play with him or help him test his newest tricks.

But still, ever so slowly, the jungle was feeling like less and less of a home for him. No matter how much Mother Wolf assured him he would always be hers, part of him felt that Shere Khan, even though he was dead, had gotten a partial victory, when his statements that man was forbidden were starting to hold somewhat true after all.

More and more, Mowgli started going to look at the man village where he had gotten the red flower, sitting closer to it with each observation. He wondered what it would be like to live amongst them, what other tricks he could learn, and if they would be more accepting of him than the jungle was after all.

And, to his surprise, he thought of the creature that had given him the Red Flower and which had followed him to the jungle. To this day, he still didn't know what it was. He wished he could learn.

"What's eatin' ya, Little Britches?"

Mowgli jumped in fright and landed on his backside right under the branch he had been sitting on. A familiar head peeked from behind him and looked down at him.

"I'm not that scary, am I?" Baloo quipped.

Mowgli's lips stretched in the face the wolves had told him to avoid, but which Baloo had never had any problem with.

"No, it's not that. I was just thinking."

A familiar sigh reached his ears. Mowgli looked around Baloo and saw Mother Wolf, Grey, Dapple, Streak, and Stomper standing there. Then, a growl from someone else followed Mother Wolf's sigh, and Mowgli saw Bagheera standing behind him. Even now, the panther could sometimes sneak up on Mowgli without him noticing. But unlike the other times, in which the panther would scold him for allowing himself to be caught off guard, now he seemed sympathetic.

"It was about what the animals are saying about you, wasn't it?" Bagheera asked.

Mowgli nodded, aware that his sadness was showing on his face.

"Ungrateful bastards, the lot of them," Baloo said. "The boy here rescues them from the most dangerous tiger in the jungle and beyond, and it only takes half a dozen moon cycles for them to treat him like the enemy again."

"Bunch of meanies," Grey snarled. "As soon as I get them I will…"

"You will behave, Grey," Mother Wolf said. "Unless you want to stay in the den. You might be grown, but you're still my son."

Grey looked down. "Yes, mother."

Mother Wolf then turned to look at him. "Mowgli, I don't have to tell you anymore that you will always have a home with me, do I?"

"No, Mother. I know I always have a home with you. But…" he looked down, trying to find words. "But…"

"You no longer feel at home in the jungle," Bagheera finished.

Mowgli said nothing, but it seemed he didn't have to. He could see everyone understood, and could see their sadness as his mother and wolf siblings' ears dropped, could hear it in Baloo's sigh.

"In that case, maybe it might be better for you if you went to live with your own kind," Bagheera suggested.

Mother Wolf growled, her ears flattened against her head. "No," she snarled.

It seemed that Mowgli's heart broke as he heard his mother's growl. He'd always thought about it whenever he considered going to the man village, and it was one of the reasons he'd never gone ahead with it. A good idea for sure.

"You know, Baghee here may have a point," Baloo said. "If Little Britches no longer feels at home here, he should try to somewhere else. It's not as if he can't drop by for a visit after all."

"He's my son," Mother Wolf stated.

"He's still not a wolf, Raksha," Bagheera pointed out. "And even wolves may have to lead their packs. There's no reason Mowgli shouldn't do the same if that's what he wants."

Mother Wolf remained as rigid as if she was a rock.

"He doesn't have to leave," she insisted. "I say so."

"But he may want to leave," Bagheera countered.

Mowgli remained silent. He knew that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there, but he didn't really know what to say.

"Do ya really want him to stay if that's hurtin' him?" Baloo asked. "If he's not liking it here, he should be able to leave."

Mother Wolf glared at Baloo as if that would make him change his mind. He remained as impassive as when the monkeys had been trying to drag him out of the temple.

"Neither me nor Baghee say that it can't hurt you if he leaves," he added. "Of course it can hurt like hell. It's natural. But we gotta respect our cubs' decisions. What would we be if we just never let them make any choice at all, or if we forced them to do things that hurt them just because it's what we want them to do? Would it really be fair of us?"

Mowgli saw Mother Wolf deflating at those words. She didn't seem any less eager to let Mowgli go, but she did seem to understand a bit better that she might have to accept he would want to do so.

"Is that what you want, Mowgli?"

Mowgli didn't know. He knew he didn't feel at home in the jungle, and knew he had wondered about living in the man village, but he didn't know if they would accept him more than the jungle did. For all he knew, they could kick him out because he was a wolf.

He regarded Mother Wolf's dropped ears, and heard his wolf siblings' whimpers.

"I don't know," he said. "I have thought about it, but I don't know."

They stood there in silence for long moments, no one knowing what to say.

"I think we'd better go home," Bagheera added. "After all, like your mother said, no one is kicking you out either. You just think about what you want to do and decide. Whenever you come to your decision, we'll understand and respect it."

Mowgli nodded, and then felt the same face the wolves had told him to avoid start to come to his face. He wasn't able to avoid it, but no one said anything about him making it at a bad time. No one said anything at all.

With them around, and Bagheera's suggestion, it seemed as good a time as any to go home.

So Mowgli started walking away from the branch he'd been under, the others following him.

But he only gave a few steps when he stopped, thanks to a sound he had never heard before.

" _My own home, my own home/My own home, my own home_ "

As slowly as he had done months ago when he ran into the creature at the man village, Mowgli turned around. And he couldn't believe what he saw.

The exact same creature that had given him the branch with the red flower was walking the beaten trail that lead from the man village to the river bank and singing that lovely song he heard. It wore coverings just like those when he had first seen it, and it had the same red dot on its head, and its hair tied like it was a tangle of vines. The only differences were that, like him, it seemed to have grown, and that now it carried a container that reminded Mowgli of the piece of bark he used to carry water. Everything else was the same. And he still didn't know what it was.

All the same, he kept listening to its singing.

" _Hmmm-hm-hmmm/Ooooh-oh-ooooh_ "

Something approached him from behind. Mowgli turned around and saw Bagheera, Baloo, Mother Wolf, and his four brothers approached him. Could any of them know what this creature was?

"What's that?" Mowgli asked.

"The man village…" Bagheera replied, sounding rather puzzled.

Mowgli pointed at the creature. "No, that!"

There were hums of understanding, the loudest being Baloo's.

"That's a girl," Baloo replied. "A young female of your species." He snorted. "Nothing but trouble according to what I've heard."

Mowgli turned around to look back at it… at her.

" _Hmmm-hm-hmmm/Ooooh-oh-ooooh_ " it kept humming.

Mowgli started walking toward her. Although he knew what she was, he still wanted to get an even closer look in broad daylight, and to listen to her singing.

"Careful, Mowgli!" Mother Wolf called. "She may be dangerous!"

Mowgli briefly turned to look at her. "I'll be right back. I want a better look."

He kept crawling toward her as she hummed, hiding behind bushes and trees so she wouldn't see him.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea…" he heard Baloo muttering.

"Whatever has to happen will happen," he heard Bagheera replying, seemingly calm, but a tad apprehensive as well.

Then he stopped listening to what they said as he finally got to the bushes by the river bank.

" _Ooooh-ooooh, ooooh, ooooh/Ooooh oooh, aaaah, aaaah_ " she sang as she knelt down by the river bank and dropped her container.

On the other side, Shanti started untangling her braid, and kept singing the song her mother had taught her.

" _Father's hunting in the forest/Mother's cooking in the home/I must go to fetch the water/Till the day that I am grown_ " Her hair now loose, she ran a hand through it and kept singing. " _Till I'm grown, till I'm grown_ " she raised her head slightly, and her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw reflected in the water. Still, she kept singing. " _I must go to fetch the water/Till the day that I am grown"_

She raised her head and smiled shyly at the boy she had seen months ago at the burned spot of jungle. He looked almost the same as she remembered, besides the fact he had grown a bit older. She kept giving him a shy smile, and slowly, he smiled back at her.

He crept a bit closer to her… and then slipped into the river as he put his foot on a loose patch of the river bank. He surfaced in only a few seconds, now with a horrified look on his face. As quickly as he could, he scrambled toward the bank and vanished behind the bushes. Shanti couldn't help but giggle in amusement.

Far away, Mother Wolf growled as she felt the human girl's amusement at her son's embarrassment.

Not hearing it, Shanti tied her braid back together and resumed singing.

" _Then I will have a handsome husband/And a daughter of my own_ " she filled her jug and spun it in circles through the water. " _And I'll send her to fetch the water/I'll be cooking in the home…_ " she finished filling the jug, put it on her head, stood up, and started heading back to the village, keeping the jug balanced on her head with one hand. " _Hmmm-hm-hmmm/Ooooh-oh-ooooh_ " she heard leaves rustling behind her, and knew without having to look that the boy was now on her side of the river and following her. " _Then I'll send her to fetch the water/I'll be cooking in the home_ "

She wished the boy would come with her, at least for now. He seemed nice, and she wanted to thank him properly for ridding them of the tiger. He'd decide whether he wanted to stay or not, but she would like him to at least pay a visit. But she didn't know how to get him to follow her.

At least, however, she had an idea to see what he thought of her.

Remembering the story Messua, Nathoo's mother, had told her about meeting her husband, Jayesh, Shanti pushed the jug off of her head and then turned around in panic as if she had dropped it.

The jug kept rolling through the trail until it stopped at the river bank.

Far away, Mother Wolf growled in rage.

"She did that on purpose."

Baloo snorted. "I guess that's what they meant by girls being trouble."

"Well that's it," she snarled. "I'm going there and stopping this."

Before anyone could tell her anything, she trotted away, and by then the others could do nothing but follow.

On the village's side of the river, Mowgli filled the jug, and reached it out toward Shanti. Shanti beckoned him toward her, like she had when told him through gestures to pick it up and take the torch. Mowgli gave a few steps toward her, but then he remembered that his family and friends were with him and looked behind.

Shanti followed his gaze. He seemed to be looking at something… but what was it? She couldn't see anything there.

She tried to spot it for several seconds. Then a rustle reached her ears… and the instant she looked toward it, panic flooded her. A panther, a bear, an adult wolf, and four half-grown wolves were standing right behind the boy, wet as if they had just crossed the river. The adult wolf looked at her rather threateningly, but the others seemed calm, for wild animals at least.

The boy smiled at her… and although she knew how dangerous wild animals could be, she somehow calmed down at that. She kept giving the animals wary looks, but she no longer felt as if she was about to faint from fear.

With the girl calm, Mowgli turned back to his family and friends. He could sense all of them thinking the same thing - that he was going to leave them.

And then, as if this was some sign he had been waiting for before he made a decision, he knew. This was the time. If the girl was inviting him to her, she was inviting him to the man village. This was the best chance he would ever get to see how men lived, and whether he would feel at home there.

But knowing that didn't make things easier. A strange weight started to grow in his chest as his friends and family kept looking at him. He had felt it before when he had to leave the pack because of Shere Khan, but now it was worse.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Mother Wolf asked him.

Mowgli thought about it. As nice as the girl seemed, he still had no idea of how the rest of her village would accept her. All sorts of things could happen. He could have whole other rules to get used to, and could be even worse at following them than he was at following the pack's rules. But he couldn't keep taking it. The rejection, the fear, the anger… it was too much. If the animals didn't accept him, he would have to at least see what men would think.

"I know that at least I need to see how things are over there," Mowgli replied, his voice somewhat choked. "But I also know I'll never forget you, and will never forget I have a home with you."

He set the water container down and wrapped his arms around Mother Wolf's head. She ran her nose through his hair and breathed his smell deeply as if it was the last time she would smell him. Mowgli hugged her even more tightly.

After what felt like an eternity, he turned to his wolf brothers. All of them tackled him as Mowgli tried to pet and hug all of them at the same time. Somehow, they managed to do it without knocking over the girl's water container.

"Don't forget me," he begged when they finished.

"Never," Grey whispered.

"Not as long as we can follow a trail," Dapple added.

"Come to the foot of the hill once in a while," Streak suggested.

"Or wait for us in the croplands," Stomper put in. "We'll be around."

All four of his brothers nodded fiercely at that statement. Mowgli petted each of them on the head once, and then turned to Bagheera. The panther tried to stand stoically, like he always did, but something about the stance seemed less solid this time. And when Mowgli wrapped his arms around Bagheera's neck, the stance just seemed to crumble.

"Take care of yourself, man cub," Bagheera said.

"You too, Bagheera," Mowgli managed.

After their hug ended, Mowgli moved toward Baloo.

For several moments, they just stood in front of one another. While with everyone else Mowgli had somehow been able to say something, with Baloo he was rendered mysteriously mute. There should be no reason for it, but somehow, he didn't know what to say.

Baloo also kept as quiet as a stone, and just pawed at the ground, opening rows of lines with his claws. Then, he said, in a choked voice, "I'm gonna miss ya, Little Britches."

"Me too, Baloo," Mowgli murmured.

And they hugged. Baloo was gentle so he wouldn't hurt him, but Mowgli squeezed as tight as possible. He wished they could all come with him, but he knew animals would fit into the village worse than men fit into the jungle.

Eventually, Mowgli stepped back, feeling as if his heart would shatter. To stop thinking about it, he picked up the water container and went to return it to the girl.

Shanti accepted it, balanced it on her head with her right hand, and extended her left one to him.

For a few seconds, Mowgli looked at the girl's hand. Then, he took a deep breath, summoned as much bravery as he could, and grabbed her hand in his. She smiled at him, and the two of them started walking toward the village.

But when the arrived at the entrance, Mowgli couldn't help but stop and turn around one last time. The girl stopped with him, and he saw Mother Wolf, Grey, Dapple, Streak, Stomper, Bagheera, and Baloo, Bagheera, had already crossed the river once more, and were on the other side.

The weight in his heart increasing, Mowgli raised his arm and waved at them. Then, he turned toward the girl, nodded, and let her take him into the village.

The seven animals looked at the village's entrance for a long time, trying to come to terms with the fact their friend would stop living in the same world.

At last, Baloo broke the silence with a playful remark. "He's hooked."

Several sighs came from around him.

"Going there was his right," Bagheera said. "He's old enough to start making his own decisions."

"And if he decides he's not well there, he can always come back," Raksha added.

Once more, the seven of them stood in silence, unsure of what to say. Then, Baloo again broke the silence.

"I guess there's nothing more to do here then." Not to mention they had been a bit too glum for a bit too long. Sure, they'd miss Little Britches, and would never forget him… but they did have to still find some joy in things.

"Well come on folks, let's get back to where we belong," Baloo said. "And get with the beat!"

He turned around toward the jungle and started singing as he walked, " _Look for the Bare Necessities, the simple Bare Necessities…_ "

" _Forget about your worries and your strife_ " Bagheera joined in.

Baloo was surprised Baghee had been the first to sing along, but was glad to see him making an effort, and was also glad when Mother Wolf and her pups joined both of them for the rest, " _I mean, the Bare Necessities/Old Mother Nature's recipes/That bring the Bare Necessities of life!_ "

They kept singing along as they went into the jungle, the sun setting over their heads.

Night would come soon.

But day also would return eventually.

And as none of them could see the future, it was always impossible to predict what either of them could bring. All they could do was wish Mowgli luck, live their lives the best he could, and above all, keep respecting the Jungle Law.

THE END

* * *

 _So, this was the one scene I felt was missing: the scene with Shanti taking Mowgli into the man village. I apologize to those who disliked it, but I personally liked it overall, and without the movie having included it, I wanted a try at a personal version. I hope you enjoyed it, as well as the way how I handled the 'problematic parts' in its original version._

 _Whether you did or not, I look forward to knowing what you have to say. Thanks to all those who read._


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